He is Masters champion but Jordan Spieth’s sister Ellie is still best thing to ever happen to him
World No.2 Spieth was eight when his sister Ellie was born prematurely, with a still undiagnosed brain disorder.
And since then they have forged a close bond, which the Texan credits for his grounded perspective on life and golf.
“She’s the best thing that happened to our family,” he said. “She’s the most special part of our family, the funniest part of our family.
“With Ellie and how we grew up with her struggles and her triumphs, I think it just put life a little more in perspective than maybe it would have had we not experienced it.
“My parents are such great parents I don’t think it would have changed much, but we were able to see first hand what someone who struggles like that is like.
“So maybe that’s what helps keep me ‘normal’. I don’t know what the alternative is when everyone says maturity and grounded.”
As a teenager, Jordan spent one day a week volunteering at Ellie’s school and wrote a touching tribute in his yearbook.
“Ellie, I know every day presents its fair share of struggles, but the fight that you show inspires everyone who knows you,” he wrote. “Spending each Wednesday with you this year has been a blessing and I love you.”
The experience left a lasting impression on Spieth, who missed the play-off at The Open by one stroke last July as his bid to complete a calendar Grand Slam ended.
“She is somebody who you can watch then reflect on the big picture of life and understand that all these frustrations in a day or in a round of golf are really secondary,” he said.
“It’s humbling to see her and her friends and the struggles they go through. Their lack of patience or understanding, where it seems easy for us and it’s not for them.
“But at the same time, they are the happiest people in the world. When I say ‘they’, I speak to special needs kids. And my experience with her and in her class, it’s fantastic.”
